‘Handful of people knew, fewer talked about it’

 
Reddy’s spy thriller, also starring Anupam Kher and Vishal Jethwa, focuses on a lesser-known aspect of the episode. The film depicts that Rameshwar Nath Kao, the then-chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), had knowledge of the impending hijacking since early January of 1971. He devised a master plan and used the hijack to strengthen the Indian government’s claims of Pakistan’s ill intentions. The government immediately banned all Pakistan International Airlines flights from its airspace. This, in turn, had a significant impact on troop movement into East Pakistan and gave India an upper hand in the Bangladesh Liberation War in December that year.  

 
Extensive research went into putting the story together. Considering it was a covert operation, Reddy admits that sourcing information was a daunting task. “Many details about the intelligence agency’s strategy were kept under wraps. Only a handful of people had firsthand knowledge of the incident, and even fewer were willing to talk about it. It was important to portray the events accurately, while also keeping the audience engaged. Through meticulous research, we were able to create a film that does justice to the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers.” Jammwal echoes his sentiments, stating, “IB 71 talks about a breed of people who sacrifice everything for the love of the nation. I [wanted] to bring forth the story of these unnamed soldiers.”